Monument record MDO18509 - Southfield House, Dorchester; Early Roman ditch

An L-shaped ditch oriented NNE-SSW was found beneath the counterscarp bank of the Roman town defences during evaluation excavation by Wessex Archaeology at Southfield House, Dorchester in 1987. It was cut by two Roman graves. The function of this ditch, which appears to be dated to the 2nd century AD, is unclear. It was suggested in the published report that it may be the remains of a laying out ditch for an insula, dug sometime in the late 1st or early 2nd century. However, the ditch is not on the same alignment as the insulae further to the north, excavated at Greyhound Yard and Charles Street. It is also on a different alignment to the anomalous, possibly early, Roman street, which ran NE-SW not far to the north (as excavated at Charles Street). It may be part of a rectilinear enclosure of uncertain function found just outside the Roman town, close to the South Gate.

An L-shaped ditch was found beneath the counterscarp bank of the Roman town defences during evaluation excavation by Wessex Archaeology at Southfield House, Dorchester in 1987 (1) (2). This ditch comprised one arm running NNE-SSW with a return to the ESE at its southern end. It had a splayed V-shaped profile measuring 1.6m wide and cut 0.9m into the natural chalk. It was filled with reddish-brown clay with flints which produced a quantity of animal bone and pottery (including a stamped base of a Central Gaulish samian vessel dated to the 2nd century AD). This ditch was the earliest feature exposed on site and it is clearly earlier than the Roman town defences. To the north it was apparently cut by the outer defensive ditch and, over most of the area exposed, it was sealed by the counterscarp bank, which had partially subsided into the top of this ditch. Two Roman burials were cut through this ditch.

The function of this ditch, which appears to be dated to the 2nd century AD, is unclear. It was suggested in the published report that it may be the remains of a laying out ditch for an insula, dug sometime in the late 1st or early 2nd century (2). However, the ditch is not on the same alignment as the insulae further to the north, excavated at Greyhound Yard and Charles Street. It is also on a different alignment to the anomalous, possibly early, Roman street, which ran NE-SW not far to the north (as excavated at Charles Street). It may be part of a rectilinear enclosure of uncertain function found just outside the Roman town, close to the South Gate.

<1> Davies, S M and Thompson, C N, 1987, Archaeological Evaluation at Southfield House, Dorchester (Unpublished document). SDO9489.

<2> Davies, S M and Thompson, C N, 1987, Archaeological Evaluation at Southfield House, Dorchester, Dorset. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 126-129 (Article in serial). SDO9490.

<3> Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1987, Southfield House, Dorchester (Excavation archive). SDO10060.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1430939 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 22 2024 7:29PM